Six Flags Bangor
Six Flags Bangor is a theme park located in the middle of Maine, in Bangor. The park opened in 1974 and has nine roller coasters. History Bangor Plaza (1974-1979) The park was opened by local businessman Michael Williams as the Bangor Plaza. He felt bringing an amusement park to Maine would attract tourists from both the United States and Canada. He opened the park on June 8, 1974 while taking care of four children and his wife. The park's star attraction, Rhino, a wooden roller coaster. The park also featured various flat rides. Two years later, in 1976, another wooden coaster, Screamer, was added. However, guests still preferred Rhino over the new coaster. In 1977, a kid section was added to the park; it featured a carousel, a caterpillar train, bumper cars, and a mini drop tower. Because of the requests for a full sized drop tower, Williams opened up Zoom! in late 1977. Around this time, rumors arose that Williams was starting to run out of money and was looking for a buyer. No rides opened in 1978 or 1979, which led to the decline in attendance. Growth (1979-1994) In the middle of 1979, an anonymous buyer bought the park. In 1980, the park hit a big milestone, with two coasters being installed (Hazard and Wreckless) and more flat rides added to the lineup. After this, fans thought the park was going to do well for a long time. In 1981 the parking lot was expanded to twice its size because the nearby mall closed and the building demolished. The next year, the park started explaining future plans that included more coasters, rides, and scenery. They told fans that scenery would be accomplished through theming and that they would be splitting the park into sections. While the sections were not announced in 1983, a new flat ride, a flying scooters themed around flying animals (birds, and such) was added. The sections were finally announced at opening day in 1984. A large poster was hung on the backside of the park map. It read "Coming Soon" with multiple hand-drawn graphs and lists. The graphs featured a map of the park with quite a few rides not seen yet with "1990" written at the top. The lists included words that seem to be ideas for sections. This poster was replaced on July 1. In 1985, the sections were announced as: Future World, Westerday (mix between the west and the past), North, and South. The current rides at the park were located at North (at the park entrance). In 1986, one coaster was added to the western past area. It was named Platinum, because the park staff thought the word gold was used too much in mine train roller coasters. 1987 brought money to the park. After opening some futuristic flat rides and a steel coaster to the south section, they were nearly able to double their profits. However, after such a great year, things went wrong in winter. A blizzard hit the park and knocked a piece of track from Hazard onto the drop tower and the caterpillar train. The coaster and the drop tower remained closed during the 1988 season. The caterpillar train was able to have its track replaced before opening day. In 1989, the drop tower was reopened. Hazard, however, was finally dismantled and removed to make room for newer rides. In 1991, the park was rumored to have been put up for sale, however, park staff denied it. The park kept adding more rides for a few years. Low Points (1994-1999) It was announced in 1994 that the park was bought by an unskilled man who only bought it because he loved amusement parks. In 1995, he opened a low-rated kiddie coaster. He ended up loaning money from the bank to build a steel coaster. In 1996, Titanium was opened to the public. It was a huge success. However, the day after the coaster began operation, the park had posted a sign saying it was up for sale. No offers came in. The man did not open up any new attractions because he was out of money. Six Flags Era (1999-Present) In 1999, Six Flags bought the park and said that it had potential. They renamed it Six Flags Bangor. The company began work with the park immediately. In 2000, the park celebrated the new millennium by opening attractions with things related to the year. A dark ride, Decade Blaster, and Century Strength, a hyper coaster. They were both placed in Future World. For the 2002 season, Tea Cups were added. In 2003, Cheetah, a Great Coasters International wooden coaster, opened in the North Area. Crime Wave opened in time for the 2004 season. Another GCI wooden coaster, Woodpecker, was added for the 2006 season. By 2007, park tripled profits from 1997. The park also added Wacko Wheel. In 2008, Tony Hawk's Big Spin was added to the ride lineup and placed in the South Section. In 2009, a water area was added. Although it was not a full water park, it included rapids, flumes, and two pools. In 2011, the park announced that it would retheme the south part of the park. They created a poll to find out what people wanted the rides to be renamed. The rethemed section: DC Universe opened in 2012. In 2013, the park added two amphitheaters to the left and right of the entrance. The left featured a wild west stunt show while the right was used for private reservations. In 2014, a Larson International super loop was added, Spinning Demon. In late 2014, the park announced that Rocky Mountain Construction would be involved with next year's addition. In 2015, the new RMC coaster opened up. It replaced Cheetah and was named Lightning Cheetah. At the end of 2015, Sail to the Sky, Fly High, and Screamer closed. FLASH was relocated to Six Flags Carolina. For the 2016 season, Hurricane Harbor opened. Lil' Flash was renamed Bugs Bunny's Carrot Coaster and the kiddie rides were rethemed to the new Looney Tunes Movie Town area. After the 2016 season, Wreckless closed. Also, Fright Fest was held at the park for the first time. In 2017, Justice League: Battle for Metropolis opened on the former spot of Wreckless. The DC Universe section was also discontinued and all DC rides would be a part of the South Section. Six Flags Bangor will open a new kiddie section, DC Super Friends, in 2018. On September 2, 2017, the park announced the rides opening in the section. The flat rides opening in the section are Flash Flyers, Batcopters, Wonder Woman Spin Zone, Superman: Power Tower, and Green Lantern's Flight. The section will also feature Poison Ivy's Twisted Tracks, a Zamperla junior coaster. Attractions Six Flags Bangor has a total of 29 attractions, 8 roller coasters, 16 flat rides, and 5 water rides.. Themed Areas * North Area * Looney Tunes Movie Town * Westerday * Future World * South Section Roller Coasters * Rhino (1974) (Flash Pass) * Platinum (1986) (Flash Pass) * Bugs Bunny's Carrot Coaster (1995) * Titanium (1996) (Flash Pass) * Century Strength (2000) (Flash Pass) * Woodpecker (2006) (Flash Pass) * Tony Hawk's Big Spin (2008) (Flash Pass) * Lightning Cheetah (2015) (Flash Pass) * Poison Ivy's Twisted Tracks (2018) Flat Rides (thrill) * Aargh! (1974) * Zoom! (1977) * Enterprise (1980) * Spinning Demon (2014) (Flash Pass) Flat Rides (family) * Carousel (1977) * Road Rage! (1977) * Brain Washer (1987) * Sky Wheel (1987) * Decade Blaster (2000) * Tea Cups (2002) * Crime Wave (2004) * Justice League: Battle for Metropolis (2017) * FLASH Flyers (2018) Flat Rides (kiddie) * Tweety's Flyers (1974) * Sylvester's Steam Train (1977) * Marvin's Lunar Landing (1977) * Taz's Wacko Wheel (2007) * Batcopters (2018) * Wonder Woman: Spin Zone (2018) * Superman: Tower of Power (2018) * Green Lantern's Flight (2018) Water Rides * Water Rapids (2009) * Flume Drop (2009) * The Nile (2016) * Bonzai Pipelines (2016) * Tsunami (2016) Defunct/Former Rides * Hazard (1980-1988) * Cheetah (2003-2014) * Sail to the Sky (1980-2015) * Fly High (1983-2015) * Screamer (1976-2015) * FLASH (1987-2015, relocated to Six Flags Carolina) * Wreckless (1980-2016) Category:Theme parks Category:Six Flags Category:Maine Category:United States